By Carolyn Cunningham, GO TELL AMERICA
BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (GTA) — More than 700 people made commitments to the Lord Jesus Christ during the GO TELL AMERICA Crusade in Brookhaven, Mississippi, Oct. 19-22, from among the 10,000 who attended the four-night event, according to event organizers.
There were 40 churches and more than 500 volunteers who assisted with the crusade, led by Evangelist Rick Gage and his GO TELL AMERICA team from the Atlanta, Georgia, area. Gage was joined by evangelists Adrian Despres, Runks Runkles and Luther Martin. Additionally, Rush of Fools served as the worship band.
The nightly services were hosted at King Field on the campus of Brookhaven High School.
David Williams, associational mission strategist for the county’s Lincoln Baptist Association said it was difficult to “put into words what God did during the GO TELL Crusade last week.
“Prayer and preparation were the keys to God opening up His blessings on southwest Mississippi,” Williams said. “Our team of over 500 volunteers did an amazing job. My prayer has been that a moment in time would create a movement that would change Brookhaven and Lincoln County and surrounding areas for eternity.”
“In coming back to Brookhaven and Lincoln County just over three years ago, I knew God wanted to impact this area with the Gospel on a large scale,” he reflected. “He did that in this crusade. Seeing churches, businesses, schools and individuals coming together in unity was simply amazing. My continued prayer is that unity would prevail! Jesus is the answer to everyday life needs. To God be all Glory and Praise! My life and ministry will never be the same as a result of the Crusade!”
As part of the crusade’s youth outreach, 3,000 students were addressed by the GO TELL team in school assemblies about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse, Gage said. He offered that he and his ministry team, based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area have shared these truths with an estimated 2 million students during ON TRACK assemblies in public and private schools across America.
Also, during GO TELL’s September pre-crusade student rally about 200 young people responded to the altar call by making spiritual decisions for Christ.
Others also gave their praise to God for the crusade, describing a wide-ranging spiritual impact in the area.
Pastor Chris Huffman of The Well Church, McComb, Mississippi, said that students from his congregation attended the Wednesday evening service.
“Several from our group responded to what the Holy Spirit was leading them to respond during the altar call, including my 10-year-old daughter,” he shared. “She was shaken by what happened to Charlie Kirk for sharing his faith. It impacted her in a real way. She prayed for more boldness and to trust that God was with her. We are honored to partner with the Southwest Mississippi GO TELL AMERICA Crusade to promote the King and His Kingdom!”
Jason Case, headmaster of Brookhaven Academy and pastor of Philadelphia Baptist Church, said the area-wide outreach touched him personally, and in a big way.
“The crusade has impacted my church!” he declared. “Dads and granddads, who haven’t been coming to church, are showing up because their kids or grandkids made a commitment to Christ!”
Ryan Thurman, pastor of Central Baptist Church in Brookhaven, Mississippi, also was enthusiastic about the spiritual outcomes he has observed.
“During the 18 years of serving in my current pastorate, I have seen God do some amazing works in southwest Mississippi. This GO TELL Crusade is among the top!” he said. “From the first meeting with Rick Gage and Chris Palmer, I knew this was going to be blessed by the Lord. I knew the timing was right for such an evangelistic crusade. And I knew that God had led the GO TELL ministry to partner with us to reach lost souls for the Kingdom.
“The GO TELL ministry is biblically based, Gospel centered and Christ exalting,” he said. “The team is made up of God-called leaders who sincerely have a heart to reach the lost with the saving message of Christ. The organizational structure and method of ministry are clearly understood, and there is a priority placed on integrity from beginning to end.”
Thurman further said that he was not alone in how he felt.
“In speaking with younger and older Christians who volunteered in this crusade, I keep hearing the same testimony: ‘I have never experienced anything like this!’ We witnessed God work through Rick Gage and through the various leaders, speakers and worship team to lead over 700 people to make decisions for Christ! And the energy of the crusade is now being felt within our own congregation as those who served want to ‘do more’ to reach lost people with the Gospel message,” he said.
“I was blessed to serve alongside the GO TELL Ministries team and see God revive my heart for evangelism and see the Kingdom of God grow with new followers of Christ! All glory to the One who is Worthy – Jesus our Lord!” he concluded.
Kenny Goza, a lay leader with East Haven Baptist Church, said there was “a spiritual awakening for our community.
“Each evening, we saw people responding to God’s call on their lives whether accepting Christ as their Lord or making a recommitment. It was truly a picture of what the Church should be,” Goza said. “Not just brick and mortar but a gathering of believers (THE CHURCH) unified, seeking God, praying and touching lives. It was truly a revival for Southwest MS. Many thanks to Rick and his team for leading this crusade. God was praised, and God blessed us with His presence.”
Chelsey Anderson, a new believer because of the crusade, announced that she is “now Heaven bound!
“This whole experience changed my life and my husband’s life in so many ways! I turned my life over to God Sunday night, and he turned his life over to God Tuesday night,” she said. “It’s truly been a blessing!”
“My little sister turned her life over to God Wednesday night, and I was able to share my journey with her! It was absolutely life changing, and we enjoyed every message every night! God is working, and we cannot wait to see what He does with our lives!” Anderson added.
Meanwhile, a crusade worker described the crusade as “a wonderful experience. We’ve been on board with this since March and prayed and worked. To have been a tiny part of what happened here in Brookhaven was one of the greatest blessings of our lives, and working with the crusade team has just been truly a wonderful experience. We’re just humbled and honored that we got to do it. If you come anywhere back in Mississippi, we’re coming to help.”
Gage has been an evangelist since 1986 when he walked away from a promising coaching career in football. Since then, he has seen tens of thousands make commitments to the Lord Jesus Christ around the world.
In 1989, Gage founded GO TELL Youth Camps which have reached more than 110,000 students and their church leaders from across America, resulting in thousands of students making commitments to Christ or surrendering to full-time ministry.
As president and founder of GO TELL Crusades, Gage will host three summer GO TELL Youth Camps in three states next year along with five evangelistic crusades in four other states.
For more information on GO TELL AMERICA Crusades, visit gotellamerica.com. Call 770-622-5600 to schedule a crusade in your area.
